Professor Disciplined for Explaining Testosterone

You would think that distinguished tenured medical professors would have the academic freedom to say that there are physiological differences between boys and girls. Apparently not.

The AFA announces:

The Academic Freedom Alliance (AFA) today sent a letter to the Mayo Clinic denouncing its treatment of Dr. Michael J. Joyner, a Mayo Clinic physiologist and Professor of Anesthesiology, over his comments to The New York Times about transgender athletes. Dr. Joyner’s comments, as well as later comments made to CNN about COVID that also led to reprimand from the Clinic, were related to his scholarly research and expertise and, as such, should be protected by principles of academic freedom and the Mayo Clinic’s own policies. The Clinic has nonetheless subjected Dr. Joyner to disciplinary action, including a one-week unpaid suspension, denial of any salary increase at his next contract renewal, and threat of termination.

Googling him shows that he has been quoted in the media on a variety of topics within his expertise, and here is the one that got him disciplined:

Michael J. Joyner, a doctor at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., studies the physiology of male and female athletes. He sees in competitive swimming a petri dish. It is a century old, and the sexes follow similar practice and nutrition regimens.

Since prepubescent girls grow faster than boys, they have a competitive advantage early on. Puberty washes away that advantage. “You see the divergence immediately as the testosterone surges into the boys,” Dr. Joyner said. “There are dramatic differences in performances.”

Wow, this is not a political opinion at all. It is simply a factual medical explanation from an expert medical professor.

Remember this when you hear of some reputable medical organization endorsing trans ideology. Their members have no free speech.

A newspaper published a letter criticizing a public drag (ie, men dressed up as women) performance for children, and now apologizes:

Last week, Good Times ran an anonymous transphobic letter to the editor. It was an error to publish this letter, and was contrary to our long-held publication standards and tradition of supporting LGBTQIA+ rights. We apologize, unequivocally, to the community in general and to anyone in particular who was offended or hurt by its appearance. There is no place for hate speech in this community — or in these pages, period.

We have removed this letter from GT’s digital channels and have taken steps to ensure that future editions are more carefully reviewed to prevent a recurrence of this type of mistake.

We will be following up with LGBTQIA+ community members and leaders to discuss how Good Times can support a safer and more inclusive community. Our commitment to a conversation about values we share as a community and facilitating dialog in a journalistic context will continue.

Note how they say that they are committed to a conversation, right after saying that only expression of one political view will be tolerated.

The newspaper also apologized specifically for granting the request to be anonymous. Apparently it now thinks that it is good for the haters to cancel the letter writer for having politically incorrect opinions.

Update: Here is the depublished letter:

Letter to the Editor: Woke Up Call

[Editor’s note: In no way, does this letter reflect the opinion of Good Times] In honor of Mother’s Day, I am using my voice as a mother of five to strongly encourage individuals to think critically about introducing gender ideology to children. Business owners who have the audacity to hold events such as Drag Story Time should really read the room and think about the moral and societal implications of exposing vulnerable children to the use of pronouns, the idea that you can choose your gender, and cross-dressing giant overgrown makeup-covered men.

The Watsonville family center called Raíces y Cariño is holding a Drag Story Time on May 21 for all ages, and to encourage families to participate, it’s free, of course! Despite the moniker “children are resilient” that was thrown around the last three years regarding how much their lives were turned upside down, as a mother and as an adult working in healthcare, I can see very clearly how children are vulnerable, and we need to protect them.

The most disturbing trend in the last few years is the destruction of the innocence of childhood in an attempt to validate insecure and mentally ill adults.
—Anonymous

Wow. That was so offensive that heads rolled, and online copies were purged.